The quaint town of Stanford in the Western Cape, between Hermanus and Gansbaai, was underwater for a large part of Monday, after a river in the community overflowed and flooded the low-lying area.
Well-known South African sports journalist Kevin McCallum, who together with his wife Keri-anne Stanton, moved into the area around a year and three months ago from Johannesburg, almost lost their lives during the storm.
Had it not been for a tree and the community members of Stanford, McCallum and Stanton would not be alive, he said.
On Tuesday, McCallum posted to Twitter about the ordeal and IOL got in touch with him shortly after.
“At around 7am, we noticed the water rising in the garden outside. It started getting higher and higher. We looked outside and the road looked rapid. It was a torrent just flowing.
“We grabbed everything we could, you know, cellphones, laptops and our dog. We only had the clothes on our back. We jumped into the car and tried to cross the road.
“But the flooding was too hard, so it picked us up and threw us down the road. We got swept about one hundred metres down the road and if it hadn’t been for this tree ... we hit this tree with the back of the car and got lodged up against the tree.
“If we hadn’t hit that tree, we would have ended up in the river and died,” McCallum explained.
Our house was devastated by the floods in Stanford yesterday. We were desperate to get out, but the car got swept in a flash flood. If we hadn’t crashed into that tree, we may not have survived.
— Kevin McCallum (@KevinMcCallum) September 26, 2023
Brave, incredible Stanford people pulled us out of the car. They saved our lives. pic.twitter.com/VVNMUNrbym
The river which overflowed is situated about 50 metres away from their home.
McCallum managed to jump out the window.
The flooding was so severe, McCallum said the water was at his chest height on the road.
After witnessing the incident, locals made up of rescue personnel and community members rescued Keri-anne and their dog from the raging waters using ropes.
“I actually collapsed after that, I think it was hypothermic shock. I was standing in the freezing cold water for about an hour trying to get to safety.
“The car is still there (against the tree),” he said.
The Stanford area saw around 100mm of rain over the weekend, causing the banks of the river to burst and flood the area.
“There’s an open plot of land beside our house and there is a freaking boat there up against a tree …There was a house for sale at about R10 million, it is completely destroyed,” McCallum added.
There were glimpses of hope in all of the chaos, however, as the Stanford community banded together during the storm to help one another, the former Independent Media journalist said.
People were seen using boats to rescue others and to escape to higher ground.
“I know there were businesses in the area, like this Mexican restaurant called La Cantina that was helping people out. Giving them whatever they needed.
“You were unable to get into the area from outside so the community had to stand up for one another,” McCallum said.
All over the Western Cape, reports of flooding and destruction continued from the weekend until Monday.
According to the South African Weather Service, the cut-off low pressure system that brought about the destruction was going to disappear by Tuesday.
Residents across the province are now left dealing with the aftermath.
IOL